In Tempe, the unofficial results are in (and with the usual caveats about 'unofficial' results), Corey Woods and Joel Navarro have won the two remaining contested seats, joining March's winner, incumbent Mark Mitchell, on the Tempe City Council.
Voter turnout was low, 22% (15,098 ballots cast out of 69,698 registered voters), but that is very normal for this sort of stand-alone municipal election.
Navarro received 7455 votes (27.2%); Woods 7098 (25.9%). Julie Jakubek and Hut Hutson, the other two candidates, received 6608 (24.1%) and 6221 (22.7%) votes, respectively.
The day at the polling places was a quiet one, for a reason other than the low turnout.
Of the ballots cast, over 83%, or 12,579, were cast early or by mail.
More later....
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Whew - got scared there for a minute
Here I was, all prepared to write a post criticizing the Democrats in Congress for passing H.R. 6074, the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act of 2008. The bill passed by a 324 - 84 margin (Giffords, Mitchell, Pastor, Grijalva - yea; Franks, Flake, Renzi, Shadegg - nay).
The reason for my intended criticism was not based on the language in the bill, but on some of the press coverage, which calls the bill a move to allow the U.S. to sue OPEC over high gas prices.
AP coverage here; TimesOnline coverage here; AFR coverage here.
The coverage gives the impression that in an era of record-breaking oil prices, and equally record-breaking oil company profits, that Congress has determined that the best solution is to take foreign nations to court.
Assuming that those nations would even bother to face the U.S. in court, given the low regard for international law that is typically exhibited by the U.S. government.
The U.S. government only participates in that process when it suits them - why should any other country behave any differently when it is the U.S. initiating the proceedings?
Based on the MSM coverage, I thought that the bill was pointless and insipid, and reeked of a little election year pandering, and that's always worthy of criticism.
I was sitting at my keyboard, profoundly disappointed in my fellow Democrats, and when the White House threatened a veto of the legislation, I was worried that my agreement with that position might indicate that I'd hit my head, come down with some sort of mental illness, or just plain had my soul sucked out of me.
Then I read the actual language of the bill, and was greatly relieved to find the real teeth of the measure.
The section goes on to delineate some of the areas of interest of the Task Force, including looking for price gouging, market manipulation, anti-competitive behavior, collusive behavior and more.
And it isn't restricted to international cartels and the like. Specifically included are petroleum refiners and wholesalers of gasoline and petroleum products.
In short, the oil companies themselves are in the crosshairs of this bill.
Which thoroughly explains why the White House and the four Republican members of Arizona's delegation so thoroughly oppose the bill.
The "I'm not totally naive" caveats -
It *is* an election year, and I'm fully aware that many of the Democratic supporters of this bill did so to take advantage of the anti-OPEC nature (aka - the "anti-foreigner" nature) of the bill. It's always easier to blame an amorphous "them" for our problems than to tell voters that they might bear some of the responsibility for the creation of and the ultimate solution for the current mess.
In addition, I'm fully aware of the fact that many of the Republicans who supported the bill did so with the full knowledge that it will never become law, either because of a veto they won't vote to override, or because it will die in the Senate.
While this move has some merit (holding Big Oil's feet to the fire is always a good thing), how about an effort to not just wean the U.S. off of *foreign* oil (which is just Republican-speak for "let's destroy ANWR"), but to wean us off of petroleum in general.
Supporting efforts to create something other than the internal combustion engine to power our transportation infrastructure would be a good start, no matter how much Big Oil and Big Auto scream about it.
The reason for my intended criticism was not based on the language in the bill, but on some of the press coverage, which calls the bill a move to allow the U.S. to sue OPEC over high gas prices.
AP coverage here; TimesOnline coverage here; AFR coverage here.
The coverage gives the impression that in an era of record-breaking oil prices, and equally record-breaking oil company profits, that Congress has determined that the best solution is to take foreign nations to court.
Assuming that those nations would even bother to face the U.S. in court, given the low regard for international law that is typically exhibited by the U.S. government.
The U.S. government only participates in that process when it suits them - why should any other country behave any differently when it is the U.S. initiating the proceedings?
Based on the MSM coverage, I thought that the bill was pointless and insipid, and reeked of a little election year pandering, and that's always worthy of criticism.
I was sitting at my keyboard, profoundly disappointed in my fellow Democrats, and when the White House threatened a veto of the legislation, I was worried that my agreement with that position might indicate that I'd hit my head, come down with some sort of mental illness, or just plain had my soul sucked out of me.
Then I read the actual language of the bill, and was greatly relieved to find the real teeth of the measure.
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ANTITRUST TASK FORCE.
The section goes on to delineate some of the areas of interest of the Task Force, including looking for price gouging, market manipulation, anti-competitive behavior, collusive behavior and more.
And it isn't restricted to international cartels and the like. Specifically included are petroleum refiners and wholesalers of gasoline and petroleum products.
In short, the oil companies themselves are in the crosshairs of this bill.
Which thoroughly explains why the White House and the four Republican members of Arizona's delegation so thoroughly oppose the bill.
The "I'm not totally naive" caveats -
It *is* an election year, and I'm fully aware that many of the Democratic supporters of this bill did so to take advantage of the anti-OPEC nature (aka - the "anti-foreigner" nature) of the bill. It's always easier to blame an amorphous "them" for our problems than to tell voters that they might bear some of the responsibility for the creation of and the ultimate solution for the current mess.
In addition, I'm fully aware of the fact that many of the Republicans who supported the bill did so with the full knowledge that it will never become law, either because of a veto they won't vote to override, or because it will die in the Senate.
While this move has some merit (holding Big Oil's feet to the fire is always a good thing), how about an effort to not just wean the U.S. off of *foreign* oil (which is just Republican-speak for "let's destroy ANWR"), but to wean us off of petroleum in general.
Supporting efforts to create something other than the internal combustion engine to power our transportation infrastructure would be a good start, no matter how much Big Oil and Big Auto scream about it.
Election Day in Tempe
Today is Election Day in Tempe. The only race on the ballot is the race to fill two seats on the City Council.
Polling places can be found here; election results will be available on Tempe's elections home page here.
Tempe voters -
Today is the last chance to vote for Corey Woods and Joel Navarro for the council; if you haven't already voted early or by mail (and my guess is that most voters have already cast their ballots), make sure you visit your polling place today.
Also, anyone who wants to assist the campaigns should contact Zac Casey of the Corey Woods campaign at 480-748-7194 or Tony Butch of the Joel Navarro campaign at 480-296-1732. Even though time is winding down, they'll still be grateful for any help (plus maybe they'll give you the info on the election night parties :)) ).
Later!
Polling places can be found here; election results will be available on Tempe's elections home page here.
Tempe voters -
Today is the last chance to vote for Corey Woods and Joel Navarro for the council; if you haven't already voted early or by mail (and my guess is that most voters have already cast their ballots), make sure you visit your polling place today.
Also, anyone who wants to assist the campaigns should contact Zac Casey of the Corey Woods campaign at 480-748-7194 or Tony Butch of the Joel Navarro campaign at 480-296-1732. Even though time is winding down, they'll still be grateful for any help (plus maybe they'll give you the info on the election night parties :)) ).
Later!
Scottsdale/TCE update: Motorola, Siemens, and GSK fined $500,000
From the EV Tribune:
Expect the fine and more to be discussed, at length, during Wednesday's meeting of the Community Involvement Group (CIG) of the NIBW at the Civic Center Branch Library in Scottsdale. The meeting will be held in the library's auditorium from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Expect a 'colorful' meeting. :))
Background on the history of the NIBW, courtesy The Phoenix New Times, here.
A U.S. Department of Justice press release on the fine here.
EPA press release here.
Previous posts - May 2, 2008, April 4, 2008, February 5, 2008, January 19, 2008. January 18, 2008, January 17, 2008, November 17, 2007, November 15, 2008.
The list isn't even close to being a comprehensive one. :)
More on Wednesday...
Motorola, Siemens Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline were fined $500,000 Monday for system failures that led to trichloroethylene, or TCE, being released into a private water company’s drinking supply twice in a four-month period.Motorola, Siemens, and GSK are the companies that were responsible for the TCE contamination in Scottsdale's water supply and are responsible for the cleanup of the affected area, known as the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site (NIBW).
Expect the fine and more to be discussed, at length, during Wednesday's meeting of the Community Involvement Group (CIG) of the NIBW at the Civic Center Branch Library in Scottsdale. The meeting will be held in the library's auditorium from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Expect a 'colorful' meeting. :))
Background on the history of the NIBW, courtesy The Phoenix New Times, here.
A U.S. Department of Justice press release on the fine here.
EPA press release here.
Previous posts - May 2, 2008, April 4, 2008, February 5, 2008, January 19, 2008. January 18, 2008, January 17, 2008, November 17, 2007, November 15, 2008.
The list isn't even close to being a comprehensive one. :)
More on Wednesday...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Short Attention Span Musing
If it's Friday, my attention span must be 'Fri'-ed (either that or I just like bad puns :)) )...
...As the June 4 deadline approaches, more and more candidates are turning in their nomination petitions.
- Sandra Kennedy, candidate for Corporation Commission, turned in thousands of signatures, many more than the minimum required.
From her press release -
- Dan Saban, candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff, kicked off the official start of his challenge to Joe Arpaio by turning in more than three times the amount of sigs needed, an indication of both his organization and the heartfelt dissatisfaction that many citizens have for the way Arpaio is performing his duties.
From an EV Tribune article on Saban-
...We've had governors, congressmen, legislators, state treasurers, state mine inspectors (and more!) indicted and/or convicted while in office. Could Arizona be adding a senator to that distinguished list in the near future?
From USA Today -
Wonder if he learned that trick from Rick Renzi, his former campaign co-chair, or if McCain was the Miyagi to Renzi's Daniel in that particular instance?
...As the June 4 deadline approaches, more and more candidates are turning in their nomination petitions.
- Sandra Kennedy, candidate for Corporation Commission, turned in thousands of signatures, many more than the minimum required.
From her press release -
"This brings me one step closer to fulfilling my promise of clean, affordable energy for all Arizona, with the extra jobs and vital economic development that come with more solar and renewable energy in Arizona," said Kennedy. "Arizona has enough solar resources to be energy independent and have sustainable economic growth."
- Dan Saban, candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff, kicked off the official start of his challenge to Joe Arpaio by turning in more than three times the amount of sigs needed, an indication of both his organization and the heartfelt dissatisfaction that many citizens have for the way Arpaio is performing his duties.
From an EV Tribune article on Saban-
Former Mesa police Cmdr. Dan Saban filed thousands of signatures with the county on Friday to get his name on the ballot, setting up a rematch with Joe Arpaio for Maricopa County sheriff.
Saban, who stepped down last week as police chief of Buckeye to focus on the race, turned in 8,040 signatures from registered voters throughout the county, far more than the 2,100 needed to qualify.
...We've had governors, congressmen, legislators, state treasurers, state mine inspectors (and more!) indicted and/or convicted while in office. Could Arizona be adding a senator to that distinguished list in the near future?
From USA Today -
Sen. John McCain secured millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that provided a windfall for an Arizona developer whose executives were major campaign donors, public records show.
McCain, who has made fighting special-interest projects a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, inserted $14.3 million in a 2003 defense bill to buy land around Luke Air Force Base in a provision sought by SunCor Development, the largest of about 50 landowners near the base. SunCor representatives, upset with a state law that restricted development around Luke, met with McCain's staff to lobby for funding, according to John Ogden, SunCor's president at the time.
Wonder if he learned that trick from Rick Renzi, his former campaign co-chair, or if McCain was the Miyagi to Renzi's Daniel in that particular instance?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
House Republicans abdicate their professional responsibilities
Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass part of H.R. 2642, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2008. The part that they failed to pass was the part provided supplemental funding for Bush's occupation of Iraq.
I call today's move a "failure" not because I support continuing to pay for Bush's war, but because the bill wasn't defeated (though much of the MSM coverage will paint it as such), but because the Republicans basically didn't show up.
The final vote - 141 in favor, 149 opposed, 132 present.
All 132 members of the House refusing to take a stand on one of the biggest issues facing our nation today by voting present were Republicans.
As evidenced by the split in the Democratic caucus (85 yeas, 147 nays), this is an issue that deeply divides the country; the Republicans' refusal to take a stand, any stand (even one I disagree with!) nearly constitutes en masse job abandonment.
And 'job abandonment' is grounds for termination of employment.
See you in November.
By the way - the part of the measure that they failed to take a stand on is the part of the bill that would have ensured that there is money to continue paying the troops after June 15.
Can't wait to see how they spin that into "support for the troops."
Other details of today's votes -
The vote split among the Democratic members of Arizona's Congressional delegation reflected the split among the whole caucus - Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8) and Harry Mitchell (D-AZ5) voted yea; Ed Pastor (D-AZ4) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ7) voted nay,
Among the Republicans from Arizona, only Rick Renzi (R-AZ1) took a stand, voting yea. John Shadegg (R-AZ3), Trent Franks (R-AZ2), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ6) all sat on their hands.
A second part of the bill that establishes a timeline for withdrawal passed 227 - 196, with Arizona's delegation splitting along party line - Democrats in favor, Republicans opposed.
The third and final section of the bill, containing some domestic spending such as the new G.I. Bill and unemployment relief, passed 256 - 166, with Democrats Grijalva, Giffords, Mitchell and Pastor, and Republican Renzi supporting, and Republicans Flake, Franks, and Shadegg opposing.
Note: there is an expectation that the Senate will restore the funding portion of the bill and return it to the House for another vote.
Note2: Bush has threatened to veto any supplemental bill that includes any restrictions or timelines (he's not too fond of education benefits for veterans, either.)
The Hill's coverage here.
AP coverage here.
Later!
I call today's move a "failure" not because I support continuing to pay for Bush's war, but because the bill wasn't defeated (though much of the MSM coverage will paint it as such), but because the Republicans basically didn't show up.
The final vote - 141 in favor, 149 opposed, 132 present.
All 132 members of the House refusing to take a stand on one of the biggest issues facing our nation today by voting present were Republicans.
As evidenced by the split in the Democratic caucus (85 yeas, 147 nays), this is an issue that deeply divides the country; the Republicans' refusal to take a stand, any stand (even one I disagree with!) nearly constitutes en masse job abandonment.
And 'job abandonment' is grounds for termination of employment.
See you in November.
By the way - the part of the measure that they failed to take a stand on is the part of the bill that would have ensured that there is money to continue paying the troops after June 15.
Can't wait to see how they spin that into "support for the troops."
Other details of today's votes -
The vote split among the Democratic members of Arizona's Congressional delegation reflected the split among the whole caucus - Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8) and Harry Mitchell (D-AZ5) voted yea; Ed Pastor (D-AZ4) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ7) voted nay,
Among the Republicans from Arizona, only Rick Renzi (R-AZ1) took a stand, voting yea. John Shadegg (R-AZ3), Trent Franks (R-AZ2), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ6) all sat on their hands.
A second part of the bill that establishes a timeline for withdrawal passed 227 - 196, with Arizona's delegation splitting along party line - Democrats in favor, Republicans opposed.
The third and final section of the bill, containing some domestic spending such as the new G.I. Bill and unemployment relief, passed 256 - 166, with Democrats Grijalva, Giffords, Mitchell and Pastor, and Republican Renzi supporting, and Republicans Flake, Franks, and Shadegg opposing.
Note: there is an expectation that the Senate will restore the funding portion of the bill and return it to the House for another vote.
Note2: Bush has threatened to veto any supplemental bill that includes any restrictions or timelines (he's not too fond of education benefits for veterans, either.)
The Hill's coverage here.
AP coverage here.
Later!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Time for a John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award
Yesterday, as part of a 'funds sweep' (a move to help balance the state's budget by finding allocated but unused funds in state accounts and returning them to the state's treasury), an unused million dollar grant to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to help fund Arpaio's personal (but taxpayer-funded war against undocumented immigrants. (Phoenix New Times coverage here)
The swept funds will be reallocated to a new, multiple agency, felony warrants task force.
Unsurpisingly, Arpaio was apoplectic. In his hastily organized press conference with fellow nativists Jim Weiers, Speaker of the Arizona House, state Rep. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, he responded with quasi-paranoid rantings of "dirty politics" and a "conspiracy" between Governor Napolitano, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and unnamed "activists" were out to stop him from performing his "sworn duty" to fight illegal immigration.
ABC15 coverage here; NBC12 coverage here; CBS5 coverage here; all three stories contain links to video of Arpaio's verbal antics at the press conference. (As for the coverage by the other two major stations in Phoenix, one is a Fox affiliate, and I won't link to Fox unless it is the *only* source for a piece of news, and there is something about the website of the other station, KTVK Channel 3, that jacks up my browser window. Too much effort to do a link to their coverage, though the New Times article contains a link to their raw video of the presser.)
In addition to the "conspiracy" rantings, there were very frequent, and very telling, references by Arpaio to "my money" and "me." Also telling was his dehumanization of undocumented immigrants. For example, when referring to the outcome of his war on immigrants, he could only bring himself to say that his deputies have arrested 950 "human smugglers and co-conspirators."
Nope, our Joe definitely doesn't believe that immigrants are human beings.
Anyway, back to our post and to the part press conference that has earned Arpaio the first awarding of the newly-rechristened John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award...
At one point during the press conference, when Arpaio was giving free rein to the most personal part of his umbrage at the state's fiscal responsibility move, he issued a choice quote, claiming that the Governor, Mayor and Supervisor weren't going to stop him from doing what he "took an oath of office to do, and that's to enforce every law in this county."
Apparently, that zeal for enforcement only applies to taillight violations against immigrants, not to the service of felony warrants upon those born here.
Otherwise, why would the state need to form a task force of DPS, municipal, and (if they want in on it) county law enforcement agencies to handle the service of such felony warrants?
And why would our sheriff (or any sheriff) object so strenuously to the service of those warrants?
For his shameless flip-flop, for claiming to enforce "every" law in the county while conspicuously ignoring the laws (and criminals) that don't appeal to his nativist sensibilities, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the first winner of the John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.
Oh, and to sort of bring home the point about how Arpaio's enforcement of the laws in Maricopa County is based on his personal predjudices, we have exhibit A in the case -
Later in the evening yesterday, one of Arpaio's deputies pulled over the Mayor of Guadalupe, Rebecca Jimenez, the same mayor who last month criticized the sheriff for engaging in racial profiling in her town.
The MCSO deputy cited her for a broken headlight and for failure to have a registration and proof of insurance in the vehicle.
I suppose that's more creative than Arpaio's usual M.O. of going after Mexicans for broken taillights. :)
Edit on 5/16 - Now Sarah Fenske of The New Times has a piece documenting Arpaio's latest harassing tactic targeted at another mayor and another one of his critics, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
From the article -
The flip-flop here is that while Arpaio is try to swamp the City of Phoenix with public records requests (and the City has said they are complying with the requests), Arpaio habitually delays compliance or completely ignores such requests.
In the light Arpaio's continuing unprofessionalism and petty vindictiveness, is it any wonder that more and more people are supporting Dan Saban for sheriff?
It's time for voters to expect some professional and personal integrity on the part of then Maricopa County Sheriff.
End edit.
Later!
The swept funds will be reallocated to a new, multiple agency, felony warrants task force.
Unsurpisingly, Arpaio was apoplectic. In his hastily organized press conference with fellow nativists Jim Weiers, Speaker of the Arizona House, state Rep. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, he responded with quasi-paranoid rantings of "dirty politics" and a "conspiracy" between Governor Napolitano, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and unnamed "activists" were out to stop him from performing his "sworn duty" to fight illegal immigration.
ABC15 coverage here; NBC12 coverage here; CBS5 coverage here; all three stories contain links to video of Arpaio's verbal antics at the press conference. (As for the coverage by the other two major stations in Phoenix, one is a Fox affiliate, and I won't link to Fox unless it is the *only* source for a piece of news, and there is something about the website of the other station, KTVK Channel 3, that jacks up my browser window. Too much effort to do a link to their coverage, though the New Times article contains a link to their raw video of the presser.)
In addition to the "conspiracy" rantings, there were very frequent, and very telling, references by Arpaio to "my money" and "me." Also telling was his dehumanization of undocumented immigrants. For example, when referring to the outcome of his war on immigrants, he could only bring himself to say that his deputies have arrested 950 "human smugglers and co-conspirators."
Nope, our Joe definitely doesn't believe that immigrants are human beings.
Anyway, back to our post and to the part press conference that has earned Arpaio the first awarding of the newly-rechristened John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award...
At one point during the press conference, when Arpaio was giving free rein to the most personal part of his umbrage at the state's fiscal responsibility move, he issued a choice quote, claiming that the Governor, Mayor and Supervisor weren't going to stop him from doing what he "took an oath of office to do, and that's to enforce every law in this county."
Apparently, that zeal for enforcement only applies to taillight violations against immigrants, not to the service of felony warrants upon those born here.
Otherwise, why would the state need to form a task force of DPS, municipal, and (if they want in on it) county law enforcement agencies to handle the service of such felony warrants?
And why would our sheriff (or any sheriff) object so strenuously to the service of those warrants?
For his shameless flip-flop, for claiming to enforce "every" law in the county while conspicuously ignoring the laws (and criminals) that don't appeal to his nativist sensibilities, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the first winner of the John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.
Oh, and to sort of bring home the point about how Arpaio's enforcement of the laws in Maricopa County is based on his personal predjudices, we have exhibit A in the case -
Later in the evening yesterday, one of Arpaio's deputies pulled over the Mayor of Guadalupe, Rebecca Jimenez, the same mayor who last month criticized the sheriff for engaging in racial profiling in her town.
The MCSO deputy cited her for a broken headlight and for failure to have a registration and proof of insurance in the vehicle.
I suppose that's more creative than Arpaio's usual M.O. of going after Mexicans for broken taillights. :)
Edit on 5/16 - Now Sarah Fenske of The New Times has a piece documenting Arpaio's latest harassing tactic targeted at another mayor and another one of his critics, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
From the article -
On April 24, four weeks after Gordon's widely publicized denunciation of the sheriff at a César Chávez luncheon, sheriff's deputies fired off a public-records request seeking the mayor's e-mails, cell phone records, and meeting calendar.
The letter also demands e-mail correspondence for Police Chief Jack Harris, City Manager Frank Fairbanks, and all of Gordon's administrative staff. In all, the sheriff's investigators are seeking every single e-mail written by more than a dozen Phoenix staffers, from November to the date of the sheriff's demand.
The flip-flop here is that while Arpaio is try to swamp the City of Phoenix with public records requests (and the City has said they are complying with the requests), Arpaio habitually delays compliance or completely ignores such requests.
In the light Arpaio's continuing unprofessionalism and petty vindictiveness, is it any wonder that more and more people are supporting Dan Saban for sheriff?
It's time for voters to expect some professional and personal integrity on the part of then Maricopa County Sheriff.
End edit.
Later!
Join fellow East Valley Democrats this weekend...
This weekend is going to be a busy one for Democrats in CD5 (LD17, LD18, LD8) -
...Congressman Harry Mitchell will be joining the LD17 Democrats as they walk neighborhoods for Tempe City Council candidates Corey Woods and Joel Navarro at 10:00 a.m., following up with a Democrats in the Park event that will actually be held indoors at El Penasco (highlights include a kickball game starting at 1:30 p.m). Contact LD17 Chair Doug Mings at dougmings[at]gmail.com for more info.
Meet up for the walk at 10:00 a.m. at Bunna Coffee (NW corner of Rural and Elliot); the event at El Penasco (SE corner of Mill and Broadway) starts at 1:00 p.m.
...Over in LD18, Congressman Harry Mitchell will be joining Judah Nativio, candidate for State Senate, and Tammie Pursley, candidate for State House, as they walk neighborhoods in Mesa. After the walk, 'there will be a 'meet the LD18 candidates' barbeque.
Meet up for the walk at 9:00 a.m. in Kleinman Park (710 S. Extension in Mesa). The barbeque starts at noon at the Manske residence, 1758 E Gary St., Mesa. (View Google Maps)
Contact for the barbeque - Wayne Manske, 480-835-8977.
Tammie Pursley, Judah Nativio, and the LD18 Democrats are working with the United Way of Mesa and a food bank, and are asking folks to bring food items to meetings and other events.
...Up in LD8, on Saturday, there will be a special reception for Congressman Harry Mitchell at the home of Denise and Ross Cooper from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Contact Herschel Fink at 480-755-3343 or Ross Cooper at 480-922-0068 for reservations and donations. Online RSVP here.
On Sunday, there will be a 'meet the candidates' houseparty hosted by Linda Mack Ross, 4752 N. 75th Place, RSVP at 480-425-0470. Join Linda and bring your friends to greet, meet and learn more about what could be . . . . Stephanie Rimmer, Candidate for Arizona State Legislature; Dan Saban, Candidate for Sheriff, Gerald Richard, Candidate for County Attorney, Joel Sinclair, Candidate for Maricopa County Supervisor. 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. for desserts.
...For those who want the get an early start on the week, don't forget LD8's "meet the candidates" night at their monthly program meeting on Thursday, May 15. The event will be held at Country Inn Suites, 10801 N. 89th Place in Scottsdale and is scheduled to include candidates Stephanie Rimmer, Dan Saban, Gerald Richard, and Joel Sinclaire. The reception starts at 6:30 p.m.; the meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
...Congressman Harry Mitchell will be joining the LD17 Democrats as they walk neighborhoods for Tempe City Council candidates Corey Woods and Joel Navarro at 10:00 a.m., following up with a Democrats in the Park event that will actually be held indoors at El Penasco (highlights include a kickball game starting at 1:30 p.m). Contact LD17 Chair Doug Mings at dougmings[at]gmail.com for more info.
Meet up for the walk at 10:00 a.m. at Bunna Coffee (NW corner of Rural and Elliot); the event at El Penasco (SE corner of Mill and Broadway) starts at 1:00 p.m.
...Over in LD18, Congressman Harry Mitchell will be joining Judah Nativio, candidate for State Senate, and Tammie Pursley, candidate for State House, as they walk neighborhoods in Mesa. After the walk, 'there will be a 'meet the LD18 candidates' barbeque.
Meet up for the walk at 9:00 a.m. in Kleinman Park (710 S. Extension in Mesa). The barbeque starts at noon at the Manske residence, 1758 E Gary St., Mesa. (View Google Maps)
Contact for the barbeque - Wayne Manske, 480-835-8977.
Tammie Pursley, Judah Nativio, and the LD18 Democrats are working with the United Way of Mesa and a food bank, and are asking folks to bring food items to meetings and other events.
...Up in LD8, on Saturday, there will be a special reception for Congressman Harry Mitchell at the home of Denise and Ross Cooper from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Contact Herschel Fink at 480-755-3343 or Ross Cooper at 480-922-0068 for reservations and donations. Online RSVP here.
On Sunday, there will be a 'meet the candidates' houseparty hosted by Linda Mack Ross, 4752 N. 75th Place, RSVP at 480-425-0470. Join Linda and bring your friends to greet, meet and learn more about what could be . . . . Stephanie Rimmer, Candidate for Arizona State Legislature; Dan Saban, Candidate for Sheriff, Gerald Richard, Candidate for County Attorney, Joel Sinclair, Candidate for Maricopa County Supervisor. 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. for desserts.
...For those who want the get an early start on the week, don't forget LD8's "meet the candidates" night at their monthly program meeting on Thursday, May 15. The event will be held at Country Inn Suites, 10801 N. 89th Place in Scottsdale and is scheduled to include candidates Stephanie Rimmer, Dan Saban, Gerald Richard, and Joel Sinclaire. The reception starts at 6:30 p.m.; the meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
Congrats to Tedski!
Earlier today, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, announced the names of the blogs selected for the national convention's "State Blogger Corps." The members of the State Blogger Corps will be seated with their states' delegations on the convention floor.
Ted Prezelski, arguably the dean of Arizona's progressive blogosphere, received the well-deserved nod for Arizona.
The entire list -
Congratulations go out to all of the bloggers honored with their selection for the State Blogger Corps.
Later!
Ted Prezelski, arguably the dean of Arizona's progressive blogosphere, received the well-deserved nod for Arizona.
The entire list -
STATE - BLOG NAME - BLOG URL
ALASKA - Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis - http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/
ALABAMA- Doc's Political Parlor - http://www.politicalparlor.net/
ARKANSAS- Under The Dome.com - http://www.underthedome.com/
ARIZONA - Ted Prezelski - Rum, Romanism and Rebellion -http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/
CALIFORNIA - Calitics- http://calitics.com/
COLORADO -SquareState.net - http://squarestate.net/
CONNECTICUT -My Left Nutmeg - http://myleftnutmeg.com/
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA- DCist.com - http://dcist.com/
DELAWARE - TommyWonk - http://tommywonk.blogspot.com/
DEMOCRATS ABROAD - Democrats Abroad Argentina -http://www.yanquimike.com.ar/
FLORIDA - Florida Progressive Coalition - http://flaprogressives.org/
GEORGIA- Tondee's Tavern - http://www.tondeestavern.com/
GUAM - No Rest for the Awake - Minagahet Chamorro -http://minagahet.blogspot.com/
HAWAII - iLind.net: Ian Lind Online - http://www.ilind.net/
IOWA - The Iowa Independent - http://iowaindependent.com/
IDAHO - 43rdStateBlues.com - http://www.43rdstateblues.com/
ILLINOIS- Prairie State Blue - http://www.prairiestateblue.com/
INDIANA- Blue Indiana - http://www.blueindiana.net/
KANSAS - EverydayCitizen.com - http://everydaycitizen.com/
KENTUCKY - BlueGrassRoots - http://www.bluegrassroots.org/
LOUISIANA - Daily Kingfish - http://www.dailykingfish.com/
MASSACHUSETTS - Blue Mass. Group - http://www.bluemassgroup.com/
MARYLAND - The Center for Emerging Media -http://www.centerforemergingmedia.com/
MAINE - Turn Maine Blue - http://www.turnmaineblue.com/
MICHIGAN - Blogging For Michigan - http://bloggingformichigan.com/
MINNESOTA - Minnesota Monitor - http://minnesotamonitor.com/
MISSISSIPPI - The Natchez Blog - http://natchezms.blogspot.com/
MISSOURI - Fired Up! LLC - http://www.firedupmissouri.com/
MONTANA - Left in the West - http://www.leftinthewest.com/
NORTH CAROLINA - BlueNC.com - http://bluenc.com/
NORTH DAKOTA - NorthDecoder.com - http://www.northdecoder.com/
NEBRASKA - New Nebraska Network - http://www.newnebraska.net/
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Blue Hampshire - http://www.bluehampshire.com/
NEW JERSEY - PolitickerNJ.com - http://www.politickernj.com/
NEW MEXICO - Democracy for New Mexico -http://www.democracyfornewmexico.com/
NEVADA - Las Vegas Gleaner - http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com/
NEW YORK - Room 8 - http://www.r8ny.com/
OHIO - Ohio Daily Blog - http://www.ohiodailyblog.com/
OKLAHOMA - DemoOkie - http://www.demookie.com/
OREGON - BlueOregon (blog) - http://www.blueoregon.com/
PENNSYLVANIA - Keystone Politics - http://www.keystonepolitics.com/
PUERTO RICO - Jusiper - http://jusiper.blogspot.com/
RHODE ISLAND - Rhode Island's Future - http://www.rifuture.org/
SOUTH CAROLINA - CracktheBell.com - http://www.crackthebell.com/
SOUTH DAKOTA - Badlands Blue - http://www.badlandsblue.com/
TENNESSEE - KnoxViews/TennViews - http://www.knoxviews.com/
TEXAS - Burnt Orange Report - http://www.burntorangereport.com/
UTAH - The Utah Amicus - http://utahamicus.com/
VIRGINIA - Raising Kaine - http://www.raisingkaine.com/
VIRGIN ISLANDS - Democratic Party of the US Virgin Islands -http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democratvi
VERMONT - Green Mountain Daily - http://greenmountaindaily.com/
WASHINGTON - HorsesAss.org - http://www.horsesass.org/
WISCONSIN - Uppity Wisconsin - http://www.uppitywis.org/
WEST VIRGINIA - West Virginia Blue - http://www.wvablue.com/
WYOMING - Hummingbirdminds blog - http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/
Congratulations go out to all of the bloggers honored with their selection for the State Blogger Corps.
Later!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Small (Shady) World Time - Shadegg, McCain, Myanmar, and TCE
By now, most people have heard how Douglas Goodyear, the man that John McCain and his campaign picked to coordinate his coronation at this fall's Republican convention, had to step aside after word got out of his lobbying ties to Myanmar's repressive regime.
From Newsweek -
The 'who's who' list includes luminaries like indicted Texas Congressman Tom Delay, facing jail over his money laundering indictment, AZ State Treasurer Dean Martin, renowned for his creative use of campaign funds, Congressman Jerry Lewis, who, like McCain, has his own shady lobbyist problems, indicted Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi (R-Mantech), who, like McCain, has his own shady land deal problems, and McCain BFF and CD3 Congressman John Shadegg, who like Delay, has money laundering problems of his own.
What I found interesting, in a "gee, isn't it a small world" sort of way, is that Goodyear's DCI Group is a paid lobbyist for Iowa American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, which also owns Arizona American Water, the company that at least twice in last 7 months has pumped TCE-contaminated water into the homes of some of Shadegg's constituents in Paradise Valley, threatening the health of those constituents and their families.
A threat that Shadegg conspicuously ignored, in favor of campaigning for his BFF, John McCain.
Maybe somebody should tell Shadegg that while giving a free pass to the clients of major campaign contributors isn't necessarily indictable, it's still not a good idea to do so during an election year.
Particularly when facing a strong challenger.
Financial notes -
Goodyear gave $256 to Martin for his state senate run in 2000; $500 to Renzi in 2003; $2000 to Delay in 2004; $3500 to Lewis, via DCI's PAC, in 2006 and 2007; and $6600 to Shadegg, both personally and via DCI's PAC, in 2006 and 2007. Info courtesy the campaign finance websites of the FEC and the Arizona Secretary of State.
Note: This may be the first blog post ever to have a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis reference that neither harkens back to the great comedy team nor is trying to force a lame Martin/Lewis joke on readers.
I'm rather proud of my self-restraint.
Enjoy the moment, but don't get used to it. :))
From Newsweek -
...[I]nvestigative ace Michael Isikoff reported that the man chosen by John McCain's presidential campaign to run this summer's GOP convention--Arizonan Doug Goodyear--was causing some headaches within the ranks. The problem? Goodyear is CEO of DCI Group, a consulting firm that earned $3 million last year lobbying for ExxonMobil, General Motors and other clients...DCI was paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Burma's military junta, leading "a PR campaign to burnish the junta's image, drafting releases praising Burma's efforts to curb the drug trade and denouncing 'falsehoods' by the Bush administration that the regime engaged in rape and other abuses."Mr. Goodyear doesn't just have shady ties to John McCain and Myanmar's brutal government. In addition to the thousands of dollars that he has given to McCain's various campaigns, he's supported the candidacies of a virtual post office wall-ful of some of the most ethically-challenged (and in many cases, criminally-challenged) politicos to ever run for a term, whether in office or in prison.
The 'who's who' list includes luminaries like indicted Texas Congressman Tom Delay, facing jail over his money laundering indictment, AZ State Treasurer Dean Martin, renowned for his creative use of campaign funds, Congressman Jerry Lewis, who, like McCain, has his own shady lobbyist problems, indicted Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi (R-Mantech), who, like McCain, has his own shady land deal problems, and McCain BFF and CD3 Congressman John Shadegg, who like Delay, has money laundering problems of his own.
What I found interesting, in a "gee, isn't it a small world" sort of way, is that Goodyear's DCI Group is a paid lobbyist for Iowa American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, which also owns Arizona American Water, the company that at least twice in last 7 months has pumped TCE-contaminated water into the homes of some of Shadegg's constituents in Paradise Valley, threatening the health of those constituents and their families.
A threat that Shadegg conspicuously ignored, in favor of campaigning for his BFF, John McCain.
Maybe somebody should tell Shadegg that while giving a free pass to the clients of major campaign contributors isn't necessarily indictable, it's still not a good idea to do so during an election year.
Particularly when facing a strong challenger.
Financial notes -
Goodyear gave $256 to Martin for his state senate run in 2000; $500 to Renzi in 2003; $2000 to Delay in 2004; $3500 to Lewis, via DCI's PAC, in 2006 and 2007; and $6600 to Shadegg, both personally and via DCI's PAC, in 2006 and 2007. Info courtesy the campaign finance websites of the FEC and the Arizona Secretary of State.
Note: This may be the first blog post ever to have a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis reference that neither harkens back to the great comedy team nor is trying to force a lame Martin/Lewis joke on readers.
I'm rather proud of my self-restraint.
Enjoy the moment, but don't get used to it. :))
Monday, May 12, 2008
Time to retire the Sunday Morning Crappie Award
I wasn't going to do one of these this week, but then the McCain campaign, not waiting to be reeled in, served it up with a "reverse back somersault with 2 twists" leap directly into the bottom of the boat.
Earlier this week, the McCain campaign took umbrage when Sen. Barack Obama commented that perhaps McCain has "lost his bearings." They felt that Sen. Obama was attacking Sen. McCain's age (he wasn't, but the McCain campaign isn't going to let facts get in the way of negative rhetoric.)
Then later in the week Joe Lieberman, speaking for the campaign, called McCain's "experience" one of his biggest advantages and one of the reasons that voters should choose McCain over Obama.
On one hand, they criticize their presumptive opponent for a perceived reference to John McCain's age, but then squirm, twist, and flippety-flop when citing his age as a strength in one of their own talking points??
WTF???
For more on McCain's hypocritical antics this week, check out this post from Desert Beacon.
Anyway, on to the retirement of the Sunday Morning Crappie Award. It seems that every week, John McCain wins the award, or is in strong contention for it. He is so consistent in his flip-flopping that scientists have derived a corollary to Newton's First Law of Motion -
Simply put , in light of past activities (like saying that he supported George Bush after the Bush campaign hatchet job on him in 2000, telling Arianna Huffington that he voted for Al Gore, and now denying that report) and current developments, there aren't any contenders for the award that are such strong candidates week in and week out, the Sunday Morning Crappie Award is henceforth retired.
Beginning next week, we here at Random Musings will debut a new award, one that is sure to light the blogosphere afire.
We hereby present......
The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award!!!
Please note: McCain's involvement in a suspicious land deal in AZ, while worthy of a raised eyebrow (and possibly an indictment), doesn't factor in a Crappie award - he's been very consistent about it for years, as this post from DB demonstrates.
At least we now know where Rep. Rick Renzi, former AZ state chair for the McCain campaign and indicted for his own illicit land deals, learned his trade.
Later!
Earlier this week, the McCain campaign took umbrage when Sen. Barack Obama commented that perhaps McCain has "lost his bearings." They felt that Sen. Obama was attacking Sen. McCain's age (he wasn't, but the McCain campaign isn't going to let facts get in the way of negative rhetoric.)
Then later in the week Joe Lieberman, speaking for the campaign, called McCain's "experience" one of his biggest advantages and one of the reasons that voters should choose McCain over Obama.
On one hand, they criticize their presumptive opponent for a perceived reference to John McCain's age, but then squirm, twist, and flippety-flop when citing his age as a strength in one of their own talking points??
WTF???
For more on McCain's hypocritical antics this week, check out this post from Desert Beacon.
Anyway, on to the retirement of the Sunday Morning Crappie Award. It seems that every week, John McCain wins the award, or is in strong contention for it. He is so consistent in his flip-flopping that scientists have derived a corollary to Newton's First Law of Motion -
1. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.
..... a. In politics, once you start flip-flopping, you keep flip-flopping until the external forces of the electorate stop you.
Simply put , in light of past activities (like saying that he supported George Bush after the Bush campaign hatchet job on him in 2000, telling Arianna Huffington that he voted for Al Gore, and now denying that report) and current developments, there aren't any contenders for the award that are such strong candidates week in and week out, the Sunday Morning Crappie Award is henceforth retired.
Beginning next week, we here at Random Musings will debut a new award, one that is sure to light the blogosphere afire.
We hereby present......
The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award!!!
Please note: McCain's involvement in a suspicious land deal in AZ, while worthy of a raised eyebrow (and possibly an indictment), doesn't factor in a Crappie award - he's been very consistent about it for years, as this post from DB demonstrates.
At least we now know where Rep. Rick Renzi, former AZ state chair for the McCain campaign and indicted for his own illicit land deals, learned his trade.
Later!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Short Attention Span Musing
...The McCain campaign is preparing its strategy for the fall, locking up the 'really creepy' vote early on...either that, or Joe Lieberman earned an MD when no one was looking (hey - he's got the time now that he doesn't have to go to any Democratic Party functions, right? :) )...
From AP, via the Boston Herald -
Lieberman's comment was in response to Barack Obama's comment that John McCain had 'lost his bearings' during his pursuit of the presidency, which was itself a response to McCain's comment that the Sen. Obama is the favorite candidate of Hamas.
Apparently, the McCain campaign considers Obama's 'bearings' comment to be a shot at McCain's age.
Sorry guys, but this has nothing to do with age - your candidate lost his bearings years ago, when winning the presidency became more important to him than his humanity.
BTW - didn't Sen. Larry Craig (R - Airport Restroom) get in trouble for merely offering to 'check someone's bearings'?? :))
...On Friday night, the Irrelevant Express whistle-stopped its way through Tempe when third party presidential candidate Ralph Nader campaigned at Changing Hands Bookstore.
After what happened in 2000, he's less than irrelevant to most voters. I don't mean to sound too harsh to Mr. Nader, because he's done some great work during his career, but if he wants to be a force for real change, he needs to choose a different path. All his presidential runs do at this point is to increase the likelihood that a truly bad candidate win the White House.
...In a rather disjointed two-step, on one hand, Republican Sen. David Vitter was cleared on any ethics violations regarding his involvment with a D.C. prostitution ring operated by recently-suicided D.C. madam Deborah Jean Palfrey.
On the other hand, the GOP has turned on one of its own, Rep. Vito Fossella. His crimes? The married congressman was stopped for a DUI and admitted to fathering a child with his mistress.
Why the calls for Fossella's resignation, but the free pass for Vitter for being a patron of an ongoing criminal enterprise?
I don't want to sound like that I'm condoning Fossella's actions (the DUI or the affair), but he's not the first sitting Congresscritter to have a booze problem (he won't be the last, either!), no one was hurt by his DUI (and yes, that does make a difference for the purposes of this post), and his marriage and extramarital activities are only the business of the people involved (and he won't be the last one to cheat on his wife, either).
Much as it pains this Democratic hack to say this, let the voters of his district decide if they still want Fossella, warts and all, to represent them in Washington. There seem to be legitimate reasons for this guy to be out of Congress (corruption, misuse of campaign funds, just generally being a sleazebag, etc.); let him be run out of town for those reasons.
Not for being as subject to human weakness in his personal life as everybody else.
Have a good weekend...
From AP, via the Boston Herald -
“I just want to report that this morning, I personally checked John McCain’s bearings. He has not lost any of them,” Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said yesterday.
Lieberman's comment was in response to Barack Obama's comment that John McCain had 'lost his bearings' during his pursuit of the presidency, which was itself a response to McCain's comment that the Sen. Obama is the favorite candidate of Hamas.
Apparently, the McCain campaign considers Obama's 'bearings' comment to be a shot at McCain's age.
Sorry guys, but this has nothing to do with age - your candidate lost his bearings years ago, when winning the presidency became more important to him than his humanity.
BTW - didn't Sen. Larry Craig (R - Airport Restroom) get in trouble for merely offering to 'check someone's bearings'?? :))
...On Friday night, the Irrelevant Express whistle-stopped its way through Tempe when third party presidential candidate Ralph Nader campaigned at Changing Hands Bookstore.
After what happened in 2000, he's less than irrelevant to most voters. I don't mean to sound too harsh to Mr. Nader, because he's done some great work during his career, but if he wants to be a force for real change, he needs to choose a different path. All his presidential runs do at this point is to increase the likelihood that a truly bad candidate win the White House.
...In a rather disjointed two-step, on one hand, Republican Sen. David Vitter was cleared on any ethics violations regarding his involvment with a D.C. prostitution ring operated by recently-suicided D.C. madam Deborah Jean Palfrey.
On the other hand, the GOP has turned on one of its own, Rep. Vito Fossella. His crimes? The married congressman was stopped for a DUI and admitted to fathering a child with his mistress.
Why the calls for Fossella's resignation, but the free pass for Vitter for being a patron of an ongoing criminal enterprise?
I don't want to sound like that I'm condoning Fossella's actions (the DUI or the affair), but he's not the first sitting Congresscritter to have a booze problem (he won't be the last, either!), no one was hurt by his DUI (and yes, that does make a difference for the purposes of this post), and his marriage and extramarital activities are only the business of the people involved (and he won't be the last one to cheat on his wife, either).
Much as it pains this Democratic hack to say this, let the voters of his district decide if they still want Fossella, warts and all, to represent them in Washington. There seem to be legitimate reasons for this guy to be out of Congress (corruption, misuse of campaign funds, just generally being a sleazebag, etc.); let him be run out of town for those reasons.
Not for being as subject to human weakness in his personal life as everybody else.
Have a good weekend...
Events Calendar
Monday, May 12 - East Valley Residents are invited to join Governor Napolitano in celebration of Older Americans Month.
Join her to chat over coffee, obtain new resources for senior citizens and mature workers, and to hear about her initiatives for an Aging Arizona.
Place: Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Rd., Scottsdale.
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Contact: Governor's Office on Aging, 602.542.4710.
Tuesday, May 13 - Monthly meeting of the LD17 Democrats
Join fellow Democrats from the Tempe and south Scottsdale area as we hear from speakers Roberto Reveles of Somos America, Tempe City Councilman Mark Mitchell, and Joel Navarro and Corey Woods, candidates for the Tempe City Council.
Place: Pyle Center, 655 East Southern Avenue. Tempe (SW corner of Southern and Rural)
Time: 6:30 info exchange/meet and greet; 7:00 p.m. meeting start
Contact: Doug Mings, LD17 Chair at dougmings[at]gmail.com or 480.628.2481.
Thursday, May 15 - The LD8 Democrats present a 'meet the candidates' night.
Five candidates have accepted D8’s invitation to participate in this first “Meet the Candidates” program: Kara Kelty, Candidate for Corporation Commission; Joel Sinclaire, Candidate for Maricopa County Supervisor; Dan Saban, Candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff; Gerald Richard, Candidate for Maricopa County Attorney; Stephanie Rimmer, Candidate for the Arizona State Legislature.
Place: Country Inn Suites, 10801 N. 89th Pl., Scottsdale.
Time: Reception at 6:30 p.m.; program starts at 7:00 p.m.
Contact: 480.596.8350
Tuesday, May 20 - Election Day in Tempe!
Wednesday, May 21 - Meeting of the Community Involvement Group (CIG) of the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site (NIBW)
Place: Scottsdale Civic Center Library, 3839 N.Drinkwater Blvd.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Contact: Vicki Rosen, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, 415.972.3244, rosen.vicki[at]epa.gov
Later!
Join her to chat over coffee, obtain new resources for senior citizens and mature workers, and to hear about her initiatives for an Aging Arizona.
Place: Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Rd., Scottsdale.
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Contact: Governor's Office on Aging, 602.542.4710.
Tuesday, May 13 - Monthly meeting of the LD17 Democrats
Join fellow Democrats from the Tempe and south Scottsdale area as we hear from speakers Roberto Reveles of Somos America, Tempe City Councilman Mark Mitchell, and Joel Navarro and Corey Woods, candidates for the Tempe City Council.
Place: Pyle Center, 655 East Southern Avenue. Tempe (SW corner of Southern and Rural)
Time: 6:30 info exchange/meet and greet; 7:00 p.m. meeting start
Contact: Doug Mings, LD17 Chair at dougmings[at]gmail.com or 480.628.2481.
Thursday, May 15 - The LD8 Democrats present a 'meet the candidates' night.
Five candidates have accepted D8’s invitation to participate in this first “Meet the Candidates” program: Kara Kelty, Candidate for Corporation Commission; Joel Sinclaire, Candidate for Maricopa County Supervisor; Dan Saban, Candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff; Gerald Richard, Candidate for Maricopa County Attorney; Stephanie Rimmer, Candidate for the Arizona State Legislature.
Place: Country Inn Suites, 10801 N. 89th Pl., Scottsdale.
Time: Reception at 6:30 p.m.; program starts at 7:00 p.m.
Contact: 480.596.8350
Tuesday, May 20 - Election Day in Tempe!
Wednesday, May 21 - Meeting of the Community Involvement Group (CIG) of the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site (NIBW)
Place: Scottsdale Civic Center Library, 3839 N.Drinkwater Blvd.
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Contact: Vicki Rosen, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, 415.972.3244, rosen.vicki[at]epa.gov
Later!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
John Shadegg, Master Of The Empty Gesture
Apparently, John Shadegg realizes that after not supporting Harry Mitchell's modern G.I. Bill (288 cosponsors and counting, but no Shadegg), he has some bridges to repair with the veterans in his district.
Too bad for him (and for his veteran constituents) that his attempt to do that was all sizzle and no steak.
Thanks to PolitickerAZ for the heads-up on this one...
On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 5818, the Neighborhood Stabilization Act. The bill would establish a program to purchase foreclosed properties and sell them to low- and middle-class buyers at a reduced cost. Since the bill would help Americans, President Bush has threatened to veto it.
Before final passage of the bill, the Republicans, in the person of our own John Shadegg (R-AZ3), made one of their standard motions to recommit (aka - 'kill') the bill.
From the Politicker AZ piece -
Sounds good, right? Where's the 'empty gesture' here?
From CQ.com (note: Politicker AZ used the same quote; I just went to their source) -
From the House webpage chronicling its floor activities on Wednesday, May 7 -
Note: The entire McCotter amendment, courtesy the House Rules Committee, here.
In any event, Shadegg's motion to recommit failed by a 210 - 216 vote (from AZ - Renzi, Flake, Shadegg, Franks, Giffords, and Mitchell, aye; Pastor and Grijalva, nay) while the underlying bill passed 239 - 188 (Giffords, Mitchell, Pastor, Grijalva - aye; Flake, Franks, Shadegg, Renzi - nay).
Shadegg seems to be conceding the whole supporting veterans issue to his opponent for the CD3 seat, Bob Lord -
- Lord's campaign website has a page dedicated to supporting actual troops and veterans and guiding his supporters to organizations that directly and specifically assist active-duty troops, veterans, and their families.
- Shadegg's campaign website has a page supporting General Petraeus.
Anybody have questions about which of the two actually cares more about the people actually serving our country?
Later!
Too bad for him (and for his veteran constituents) that his attempt to do that was all sizzle and no steak.
Thanks to PolitickerAZ for the heads-up on this one...
On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 5818, the Neighborhood Stabilization Act. The bill would establish a program to purchase foreclosed properties and sell them to low- and middle-class buyers at a reduced cost. Since the bill would help Americans, President Bush has threatened to veto it.
Before final passage of the bill, the Republicans, in the person of our own John Shadegg (R-AZ3), made one of their standard motions to recommit (aka - 'kill') the bill.
From the Politicker AZ piece -
Rep. John Shadegg (R-3), however, offered a motion to recommit that would have barred drug dealers, sex offenders and those who've committed mortgage fraud. Instead, said Shadegg, priority should be given to disabled veterans.
"...the least we can do is give those who have served our nation the highest priority in receiving housing assistance," said Shadegg on the floor of the House.
Sounds good, right? Where's the 'empty gesture' here?
From CQ.com (note: Politicker AZ used the same quote; I just went to their source) -
But House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said the motion to recommit could stall the bill. He noted that an amendment from Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., adopted Wednesday by voice vote, added priority treatment for veterans and members of the armed forces.My curiousity was piqued - *surely* a long-time Congressman such as Shadegg wouldn't have missed something like that, particularly when the amendment was offered by a fellow Republican, such as Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI11). Surely Rep. Frank was putting a partisan spin on the facts, right??
From the House webpage chronicling its floor activities on Wednesday, May 7 -
10:39 P.M. -
On agreeing to the McCotter amendment Agreed to by voice vote.
10:27 P.M. -
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 1174, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with ten minutes of debate on the McCotter amendment.
Amendment offered by Mr. McCotter.
An amendment numbered 6 printed in House Report 110-621 to direct States using federal loans and grants for housing rehabilitation to give priority to veterans, members of the Armed Forces on active duty, members of the National Guard or Armed Forces reserves, school teachers, and emergency responders when reselling the rehabilitated property.
Note: The entire McCotter amendment, courtesy the House Rules Committee, here.
In any event, Shadegg's motion to recommit failed by a 210 - 216 vote (from AZ - Renzi, Flake, Shadegg, Franks, Giffords, and Mitchell, aye; Pastor and Grijalva, nay) while the underlying bill passed 239 - 188 (Giffords, Mitchell, Pastor, Grijalva - aye; Flake, Franks, Shadegg, Renzi - nay).
Shadegg seems to be conceding the whole supporting veterans issue to his opponent for the CD3 seat, Bob Lord -
- Lord's campaign website has a page dedicated to supporting actual troops and veterans and guiding his supporters to organizations that directly and specifically assist active-duty troops, veterans, and their families.
- Shadegg's campaign website has a page supporting General Petraeus.
Anybody have questions about which of the two actually cares more about the people actually serving our country?
Later!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Some interesting facts that I learned during Scottsdale City Government 101
I've spent the last 8 Wednesday evenings in the company of more than 20 (mostly) fellow Scottsdale residents who were interested in learning more about the functions of their city's goverment. We were taking a course offered by the city, Scottsdale City Government 101 (webpage here).
Meeting at various locations throughout the city (Granite Reef Senior Center, One Civic Center, Witzeman Building, Arabian Library, the City's Human Resources meeting room), the group received presentations on city functions from various department heads, charter officers, Council members and the Mayor.
I won't try to cover every bit of the course - that would take too much time - but I can share some of the more interesting facts that I learned during the course.
- The City of Scottsdale has approximately 2800 employees.
- The City's Official Food is chili (oh, wait - that's not really that interesting. Never mind. :) )
- Generally speaking, Scottsdale's unemployment rate is 1/2 - 2/3 that of Arizona's as a whole.
- The City's Intelligent Transportation System/Traffic Management Center is 'da bomb' (at the end of this post, I'm going to urge any interested residents to take this course because of the wealth of information offered, but the entire 8 weeks was made worthwhile because of the one hour in that room).
In Scottsdale, there are somewhere around 50 traffic intersection cameras (not to be confused with red-light and photo radar cameras, which are separate and unrelated to the traffic control system), as well as buried road sensors at every intersection with traffic signals (285 of them). The engineers and operators working in that room can monitor (wall-sized multichannel video monitors) and adjust the signals' timings and cycles in response to out-of-the-ordinary traffic conditions (accidents, events, flash flooding or other weather issues, etc.)
At the risk of playing into every comedic stereotype about men and remote controls, I'm channelling Tim Allen of "Home Improvement" fame - "Arr arr arr arr" (best approximation of a simian grunt there. Just work with me on this one, OK? :)) )
- Approximately 50,000 people work in the Scottsdale Airpark.
- The City has approximately 1955 miles of water lines, and over 1300 miles of sewer lines. (For most people, that's even less interesting than the chili factoid, but given the recent history of drinking water issues in parts of Scottsdale, that one may be important to some readers.)
- The biggest chunk of the City's capital improvement funds go to water and wastewater projects, not City office buildings or even roads.
- Scottsdale's crime rate has dropped almost as steadily as its population has risen.
- According to the City's Human Services Division, 7.1% of Scottsdale residents live in poverty.
- The City's libraries have over 1.4 million visitors per year.
- Scottsdale has 962 acres of public parks, including 3 'off-leash' areas for dogs.
- Nearly 150,000 people attended spring training games in Scottsdale this year (the spring home of the SF Giants).
- More than 60,000 Scottsdale voters are on the Permanent Early Voting list; according to the Maricopa County Recorder's latest registration numbers, there are just over 123,000 registered voters in Scottsdale. That means that 50% of Scottsdale's voters have already chosen to vote early, and more will do so as the elections near. The most recent elections in Tempe saw 79% of ballots cast as early ballots; Scottsdale may approach that figure.
- The presentation about fire service coverage actually had some information that is relevant to political geeks like me - the southernmost part of the city (from the Tempe line north to Indian Bend Road), encompassing 7% of the City's land area, is home to 43% of the City's population. I'm not sure how close that distribution of population matches up to the distribution of registered voters, but it's still eye-opening.
- Starting next month, Councilman Bob Littlefield will begin an eight-month term as Mayor Pro-tem, better known as Vice Mayor. Councilman Wayne Ecton in the current Vice Mayor.
- As of the close of business on Wednesday, no candidate for City office has turned in petitions. Normally, there's at least one show-off who tries to get their signatures in at 8:00 a.m on the first day that they can be turned in. In Scottsdale's case, that was Monday, May 5th.
- When the ballots for the elections in September and November come out, the contests that have the most direct impact on people's lives, the races for municipal offices, will all be at the bottom of the ballot, as will an municipality-based referendum questions.
The combination of increased turnout due to the inclusion of Scottsdale's races with the federal/state/county races and referenda with the inevitable ballot exhaustion (depending on the number of ballot questions, the ballots this fall could be 3 or 4 pages long even before getting to the local races) could lead to some interesting results, depending on which factor turns out to have a greater influence.
- An unheralded but potentially highly significant side effect the increased turnout due to the merging of large municipality elections from a March/May cycle into the September/November cycle could be making it tougher for potential candidates to get on the ballot in future elections.
Current rules in Scottsdale (and many cities) base the number of nominating petition signatures required to make it on the ballot on the number of voters in the most recent mayoral election.
Right now, that means 1,652 valid signatures, based on 5% of the turnout of 33,039 in the mayoral runoff election in May of 2004.
Compare that to the more than 109,000 ballots cast in the November 2004 general election by Scottsdale's voters.
A similar turnout this November could lead to a tripling of signature requirements, to more than 5400, for the 2010 and 2012 municipal elections.
A bill to address this, HB2385, was introduced in the Arizona Legislature this session. It died when the House Rules Committee failed to consider it. (I'm not sure why - both the chair and vice-chair of the committee were sponsors of the bill, as were the entire delegations from LD17 and LD8.)
Whatever the reaspn for the measure's failure this session, look for it to come back next session so that it can be in place before the start of the 2010 campaign season.
While I had some familiarity with the political side of Scottsdale's government, before the course started, I had almost no knowledge of the 'nuts and bolts' side of it.
Now, even more important than the info the presenters imparted to the class, I've got a really cool three-ring binder full of names, phone numbers, and emails when I've got specific questions.
For those who are interested in finding out more about how their city actually works, I heartily recommend signing up for the fall session of the class when it is offered - all lame jokes notwithstanding, it's a great way to get a crash course in what the City does and what it has to offer to its residents.
While all of the presenters and speakers did a great job with their parts of the course curriculum, special thanks go out to LaTricia Harper Woods, Assistant to the City Manager, and John Shultz, Citizen Liaison (for now anyway, he's rotating to a different department soon). For eight weeks, they facilitated the course, kept us focused (most of the presenters were happy to answer every question, but those questions could have kept going well into the night, and there were 2, 3, or more presenters every night) and most importantly, they fed us well.
:)
Without the enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge of LaTricia and John, the course wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting or useful.
Later!
Meeting at various locations throughout the city (Granite Reef Senior Center, One Civic Center, Witzeman Building, Arabian Library, the City's Human Resources meeting room), the group received presentations on city functions from various department heads, charter officers, Council members and the Mayor.
I won't try to cover every bit of the course - that would take too much time - but I can share some of the more interesting facts that I learned during the course.
- The City of Scottsdale has approximately 2800 employees.
- The City's Official Food is chili (oh, wait - that's not really that interesting. Never mind. :) )
- Generally speaking, Scottsdale's unemployment rate is 1/2 - 2/3 that of Arizona's as a whole.
- The City's Intelligent Transportation System/Traffic Management Center is 'da bomb' (at the end of this post, I'm going to urge any interested residents to take this course because of the wealth of information offered, but the entire 8 weeks was made worthwhile because of the one hour in that room).
In Scottsdale, there are somewhere around 50 traffic intersection cameras (not to be confused with red-light and photo radar cameras, which are separate and unrelated to the traffic control system), as well as buried road sensors at every intersection with traffic signals (285 of them). The engineers and operators working in that room can monitor (wall-sized multichannel video monitors) and adjust the signals' timings and cycles in response to out-of-the-ordinary traffic conditions (accidents, events, flash flooding or other weather issues, etc.)
At the risk of playing into every comedic stereotype about men and remote controls, I'm channelling Tim Allen of "Home Improvement" fame - "Arr arr arr arr" (best approximation of a simian grunt there. Just work with me on this one, OK? :)) )
- Approximately 50,000 people work in the Scottsdale Airpark.
- The City has approximately 1955 miles of water lines, and over 1300 miles of sewer lines. (For most people, that's even less interesting than the chili factoid, but given the recent history of drinking water issues in parts of Scottsdale, that one may be important to some readers.)
- The biggest chunk of the City's capital improvement funds go to water and wastewater projects, not City office buildings or even roads.
- Scottsdale's crime rate has dropped almost as steadily as its population has risen.
- According to the City's Human Services Division, 7.1% of Scottsdale residents live in poverty.
- The City's libraries have over 1.4 million visitors per year.
- Scottsdale has 962 acres of public parks, including 3 'off-leash' areas for dogs.
- Nearly 150,000 people attended spring training games in Scottsdale this year (the spring home of the SF Giants).
- More than 60,000 Scottsdale voters are on the Permanent Early Voting list; according to the Maricopa County Recorder's latest registration numbers, there are just over 123,000 registered voters in Scottsdale. That means that 50% of Scottsdale's voters have already chosen to vote early, and more will do so as the elections near. The most recent elections in Tempe saw 79% of ballots cast as early ballots; Scottsdale may approach that figure.
- The presentation about fire service coverage actually had some information that is relevant to political geeks like me - the southernmost part of the city (from the Tempe line north to Indian Bend Road), encompassing 7% of the City's land area, is home to 43% of the City's population. I'm not sure how close that distribution of population matches up to the distribution of registered voters, but it's still eye-opening.
- Starting next month, Councilman Bob Littlefield will begin an eight-month term as Mayor Pro-tem, better known as Vice Mayor. Councilman Wayne Ecton in the current Vice Mayor.
- As of the close of business on Wednesday, no candidate for City office has turned in petitions. Normally, there's at least one show-off who tries to get their signatures in at 8:00 a.m on the first day that they can be turned in. In Scottsdale's case, that was Monday, May 5th.
- When the ballots for the elections in September and November come out, the contests that have the most direct impact on people's lives, the races for municipal offices, will all be at the bottom of the ballot, as will an municipality-based referendum questions.
The combination of increased turnout due to the inclusion of Scottsdale's races with the federal/state/county races and referenda with the inevitable ballot exhaustion (depending on the number of ballot questions, the ballots this fall could be 3 or 4 pages long even before getting to the local races) could lead to some interesting results, depending on which factor turns out to have a greater influence.
- An unheralded but potentially highly significant side effect the increased turnout due to the merging of large municipality elections from a March/May cycle into the September/November cycle could be making it tougher for potential candidates to get on the ballot in future elections.
Current rules in Scottsdale (and many cities) base the number of nominating petition signatures required to make it on the ballot on the number of voters in the most recent mayoral election.
Right now, that means 1,652 valid signatures, based on 5% of the turnout of 33,039 in the mayoral runoff election in May of 2004.
Compare that to the more than 109,000 ballots cast in the November 2004 general election by Scottsdale's voters.
A similar turnout this November could lead to a tripling of signature requirements, to more than 5400, for the 2010 and 2012 municipal elections.
A bill to address this, HB2385, was introduced in the Arizona Legislature this session. It died when the House Rules Committee failed to consider it. (I'm not sure why - both the chair and vice-chair of the committee were sponsors of the bill, as were the entire delegations from LD17 and LD8.)
Whatever the reaspn for the measure's failure this session, look for it to come back next session so that it can be in place before the start of the 2010 campaign season.
While I had some familiarity with the political side of Scottsdale's government, before the course started, I had almost no knowledge of the 'nuts and bolts' side of it.
Now, even more important than the info the presenters imparted to the class, I've got a really cool three-ring binder full of names, phone numbers, and emails when I've got specific questions.
For those who are interested in finding out more about how their city actually works, I heartily recommend signing up for the fall session of the class when it is offered - all lame jokes notwithstanding, it's a great way to get a crash course in what the City does and what it has to offer to its residents.
While all of the presenters and speakers did a great job with their parts of the course curriculum, special thanks go out to LaTricia Harper Woods, Assistant to the City Manager, and John Shultz, Citizen Liaison (for now anyway, he's rotating to a different department soon). For eight weeks, they facilitated the course, kept us focused (most of the presenters were happy to answer every question, but those questions could have kept going well into the night, and there were 2, 3, or more presenters every night) and most importantly, they fed us well.
:)
Without the enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge of LaTricia and John, the course wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting or useful.
Later!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)